Gastroesophageal reflux during anesthetic induction with thiopental and succinylcholine

The effects of patient physiology and the prior administration of a nondepolarizing muscle relaxant on the frequency of gastroesophageal reflux during induction with thiopental sodium and succinylcholine were investigated. Forty patients underwent anesthetic induction during continuous esophageal pH monitoring. Twenty patients had preoperative symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, and 20 asymptomatic patients served as controls. Half the patients in each group received a small dose of nondepolarizing muscle relaxant prior to induction. Five patients (25%) with gastroesophageal reflux and none of the control patients showed significant decreases in esophageal pH during induction. Two of these patients received prior administration of a nondepolarizing drug. In all five patients, reflux occurred during laryngoscopy and intubation, suggesting the possibility that succinylcholine did not play a role in the generation of reflux. Preoperative gastroesophageal reflux symptomatology is associated with an increased frequency of reflux during induction, and the vulnerable period seems to occur after the achievement of neuromuscular blockade during laryngoscopy. Preinduction administration of a non-depolarizing muscle relaxant prior to succinylcholine use had no demonstrable effect on the frequency of reflux during induction, although the numbers studied were too small to be conclusive.